UNHCR Syria /Aleppo SO End of Year 2017 / Factsheet

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UNHCR SYRIA / ALEPPO / FACTSHEET

UNHCR Syria /Aleppo SO End of year 2017 / Factsheet

January – December 2017

Highlights

Population of Concern Government Number of Sub-Districts IDPs Returnees Resident pop Total Pop Aleppo 40 961,845 444,500 2,164,195 3,570,540

IDPs 961,845 27%

Resident pop 2,164,195 61% Returnees 444,500 12%

Presence in Aleppo

UNHCR National Staff 45

UNHCR International Staff 9

UNHCR Partners 21

UN Team in Aleppo 13

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Aleppo / Factsheet / End of Year 2017

OVERVIEW

¡ Aleppo is the second largest city in Syria. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world, and has been inhabited since the sixth millennium BC. Aleppo used to be the economic and industrial hub of Syria, it is well-known for its castle, traditional shops and unique Levantine handicrafts.

ACCESSIBILITY ¡ Over the past seven years, owing to the fragile security situation and continuous military operations in the governorate, the office faced many challenges in having access to the 8 districts of the governorate. Since the beginning of 2017, major developments have taken 418 UNHCR ORVs place on both military and political fronts that allowed 19 Community Centers greater humanitarian access to locations in the 5 districts of 7 PHC clinics Jebel Saman, As- Safira, Menbej, Azaz and Al Bab, whereas the three districts of Afrin, Jarablous and Ain Al Arab remained inaccessible.

Who Has the Newly Accessible District Greatest Control Accessibility Status Areas in 2017 Over the District?

Afrin YPG No access. Access is limited to locations under Azaz NSAGs GoS’ effective control. No access to NSAGs areas. Access is limited to locations under Some villages in Al Al-Bab NSAGs GoS’ effective control. No access to Bab NSAGs areas. Jarablous NSAGs No access

Ain Al-Arab YPG No access Access is limited to locations under Several sub-districts Manbej YPG GoS’ effective control regained from ISIS

As-Safira GoS Full access Access is limited to locations under Some villages in the Jabal Saman* GoS and NSAGs GoS’ effective control. No access to south NSAGs areas.

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Aleppo / Factsheet / End of Year 2017

SECURITY

¡ The general security situation in Aleppo City significantly improved in 2017, except on the western front; where several episodes of mortars and sniping activities, resulted in civilian injuries and material damages. Sporadic clashes occasionally took place and mostly turned into mutual shelling on the current fronts between SAF and the NSAGs with no changes in controlled lines. The threat of UXOs still exists in some neighbourhoods in the eastern part of the city, SAF’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units are working on marking locations and dismantling such objects. ¡ SAF continued their operation around Khanaser road and managed to seize new locations from Haiyet Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in northern Hama, southern Idleb and Aleppo. These gains have enabled them to widen the buffer zone around the only main supply route (MSR) to Aleppo. ¡ In the last quarter of 2017, SAF managed to expel ISIS from all the eastern country side of Aleppo reaching the last point in Aleppo eastern rural, namely Maskaneh near the Euphrates River. ¡ The situation in the north and north-western countryside developed rapidly after the advancement of the Turkish forces in Idleb and northern Aleppo. ¡ In 2017, the UN agencies have full access the all the GoS- controlled areas in coordination with local authorities. Access to SDF/YPG areas is limited and must be coordinated with the GoS and local Kurdish-dominated armed entities, namely SDF/YPG. Access was not granted to NSAGs in 2017.

Ain Al Arab

Afrin Manbij

Al Bab

Der Haffer Aleppo As Safira

YPG, PKK, Peshmerga, other Non-State Armed Groups Government & pro-government forces

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Aleppo / Factsheet / End of Year 2017

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Protection:

¡ UNHCR, through its NGO partners, provide a package of protection services related to psychosocial support, child protection, GBV prevention and response, education, livelihoods and community mobilization activities as well as material assistance and specialized support to persons with specific needs, through 19 community centres currently operational. These services are not limited to the city but extend to the newly- accessible areas in rural Aleppo. ¡ Community and satellite center services are complemented by mobile teams, which, respond to emergencies and reach underserved areas with the same services. Currently there are 16 mobile teams, in addition to seven satellite centres established in accessible Aleppo rural/Eastern city. ¡ UNHCR legal programme operates out of two dedicated clinics and through all operational community centers with 38 lawyers providing legal counselling and other protection services. Furthermore, three Civil Registry offices are being rehabilitated and Palace of Justice courtrooms are being expanded to decrease the backlog of Administrative, Civil and Family law cases receiving support from UNHCR. ¡ Community-based protection is a key element of UNHCR’s protection strategy, and is implemented in Aleppo through a range of interventions conducted, inter alia, by 418 Outreach Volunteers, 12 Women’s Committees and 19 Child Protection Committees. Small-scale community-led projects are also being implemented with 211 Community- Based Initiatives (CBIs) already completed. Seven Group CBIs, led by local youth volunteers are ongoing, in addition to supporting one Community-Based Organization (CBO). These community-based projects respond to a range of local-level protection issues which include, but not limited to, child protection, GBV prevention, psychosocial needs and education. ¡ In addition to education services provided through community centres, UNHCR Aleppo rehabilitated 20 schools and installed 25 prefabricated classrooms to support the reactivation of schools in returnee areas and to provide displaced and returnee children with access to education and a protective environment. ¡ In a multi-sectorial effort where Protection, Field and Shelter teams are involved, 2,650 solar streetlights project is currently in the implementation phase across 54 neighbourhoods in Aleppo city and three cities in the eastern rural Aleppo to provide night-time lighting, thereby mitigating protection risks and enhancing physical security of returnees in the affected neighbourhoods. ¡ UNHCR Aleppo leads the Protection Working Group, comprised of 40 partner organizations. The sector responsibilities include strengthening coordination and cooperation among protection partners, capacity-building and advocacy on priority protection issues. ¡ UNHCR Aleppo conducts trainings, covering diverse protection topics to build the capacity of its partner’s staff, with a total 800 staff/ORVs having been trained thus far. ¡ The total number of beneficiaries reached with protection interventions in 2017 was approximately 400.000.

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Aleppo / Factsheet / End of Year 2017

NFI:

¡ In 2017, UNHCR Aleppo Sub-Office assisted 921,865 IDPs/184,373 families with CRIs in the Eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo City and the accessible rural areas. ¡ The winterization programme targeted 250,000 individuals/50,000 families prioritizing the returnees to Aleppo city and its suburbs to help them resume a dignified life in their original locations. ¡ Administrative hurdles, coupled with non-positive outcomes of negotiations with parties on the ground, resulted in the impediment of any cross-line deliveries during the year. ¡ Following an assessment of the distinct needs of returnees in Aleppo, the Field team initiated several pioneering ideas, on which support and guidance were sought from the innovation team in Geneva. Many projects were tailored to offer more lighting for streets and houses, through the installation of solar streetlights and in-house solar lighting system, and to provide multipurpose household items like foldable sofas and gas cookers. Some of those ideas already materialized, such as the distribution of 1,000 foldable sofas to 600 most vulnerable families, while other projects will be implemented in 2018.

Livelihood:

The livelihood strategy in Aleppo focuses on providing the needed support for IDPs and returnees, including through income-generation. The following covers livelihood interventions for 2017:

¡ Vocational training: providing opportunities to PoCs to gain skills, thereby to increase their chances of finding gainful employment and achieving self-reliance. During the past year, 1,796 persons received livelihood-oriented vocational training. ¡ Start-up small business grants: to support vulnerable and unemployed skilled IDPs and returnees to start their own business and become self-dependent by providing the required tools. 123 business grants are delivered to beneficiaries in different areas of Aleppo city. The office was also able to reach villages in Deir Hafer where 34 of the most vulnerable animal breeders and farmers had the opportunity to get back to their original profession. ¡ Productive unit: beneficiaries from the production units received the necessary training to acquire technical skills and professional qualifications, through passing different stages until mastering a particular craft and reaching the production level. During 2017, two new productive units (sewing and shoe making) were established in Kallaseh and Sukkari neighbourhoods, respectively, to create local job opportunities. The new units are added to the one that has been functioning since 2016 in Martine neighbourhood. Therefore, in total the operation has three production units benefitting 1,087 individuals. ¡ Dignity Toolkits: PoCs who lost their assets due to the crisis were given livelihood toolkits, allowing them to resume their careers, maintain and enforce their sense of dignity and self-esteem and eventually enhance their protection environment. During the past year, UNHCR partners in Aleppo distributed 2,450 toolkits of diverse types such as: electrician, plumbing, carpentry, sewing and painting in different areas of Aleppo city and villages. ¡ Two laundry units were established in Kallaseh and Sukkari to improve the hygiene level of the returnees and to mitigate health risks associated with the scarcity of water and electricity. The total number of beneficiaries of laundry services in 2017 were 4,551. www.unhcr.org /sy 5

Aleppo / Factsheet / End of Year 2017

¡ The first phase of rehabilitation of the two public bakeries of Kadi Askar and Khafseh is completed, while the second phase will be done by April 2018 and that will support 50,000 individuals with basic need of fresh bread.

Shelter:

¡ As an emergency response to the shelter needs and where the situation did not allow for more durable interventions, shelter kits were installed to allow the families to have a dignified place to stay in. In 2017, in different neighbourhoods and slums, such as Karm Al-Qaser, Karm Al Myaeser, Karm Al-Tarab, the Old city, Jibreen collective shelter, Al Fardos and Hanano as well as Al Khafseh in rural Aleppo 18,661 individuals/4,024 families benefited from this project. ¡ To support the reintegration of self-organized returnees, thereby also mitigating the risk of further displacement, the shelter unit implements a large-scale owner oriented support intervention in Aleppo. Together with partners, in 2017, the office repaired 651 houses, accommodating 3,164 individuals in Aleppo City and Eastern rural Aleppo in the areas of returnees including Ansari Mashhad, Midan, Az-Zebdiya, Al-Khaldiehya, Al- Ashrafyeha, Busan Al Qasser and Al khafsa. ¡ School Rehabilitation was an important tool to provide the necessary services to the returnees. In 2017, the rehabilitation of 20 schools in eastern Aleppo city and eastern rural Aleppo was completed, to the benefit of more than 36,000 students. The rehabilitation work included internal and external WASH, electrical works, paint, child friendly spaces and scientific laboratories taking into consideration students with disabilities. ¡ 50.000 m3 of debris in Aleppo city, specifically in Qadi Asker and Al Shiekh Saeed, were lifted to ensure pedestrians safety, and facilitate people and vehicles’ movement. Nearly 12,500 families/ 62,500 individuals are living in the streets from where the debris was removed. ¡ UNHCR, with its shelter partner MOLA, conducted a four-day workshop to build the capacity on structural safety assessment for 30 engineers in the Technical Office of Aleppo governorate.

Health:

¡ Aleppo Sub-Office continued to support free-of-charge polyclinics, as well as six healthcare points (HPs) embedded in community centers. ¡ In 2017, UNHCR Aleppo, through partners, supported more than 138,901 beneficiaries, including 98 refugees, with primary health care, in addition to medicament, radiological and laboratory services in standalone health facilities as well as health points in Community Centers. Moreover, 2,334 patients benefited from secondary referrals, and 2,212 received medical in-kind assistance through community centers. ¡ The rehabilitation of a public health facility in the newly accessible eastern rural Al Khafsa, where the health system was completely impaired during ISIS time, is completed; equipping/ furnishing the center will be implemented in 2018. ¡ Provision of medical and health awareness, through heath partners, was one of the highlights of the office’s response strategy. 968 beneficiaries from different age groups were targeted to promote healthy behaviours and raise their consciousness about chronic disease, such as diabetes mellitus, focus on self-hygiene, and encourage the early discovery of breast/ prostate cancer. www.unhcr.org /sy 6

Aleppo / Factsheet / End of Year 2017

¡ Refugees’ secondary and tertiary health cases were linked to public service providers with whom the office has agreements to provide free-of-charge services. ¡ Participating in the health winterization preparedness and planning with WHO and the Directorate of Health, UNHCR donated 1200 blankets,160 winter kits,30 plastic sheets and 50 mattresses to five different health facilities. ¡ A set of medical equipment was donated to two public hospitals, thereby enhancing their capacity to respond to emergency cases, as well as to offer better-quality treatment to the patients who are mostly returnees and vulnerable families.

Refugees & Asylum Seekers By the Country of Origin

Country Refugees Iraq 436 Others 58 Total 494

CONTACTS Sami Aswad, Assistant Field Officer, SO Aleppo - Syria [email protected], Tel: +963 21 26 73 661 ext. 2201, Cell +963 930 336 077

Ashraf Zedane, Information Management Associate, SO Aleppo - Syria [email protected], Tel: +963 21 26 73 661 ext. 2052, Cell +963 992 444 551